Ivyleaf Speedwell
Veronica hederifolia L.

Family: - Scrophulariaceae.

Names:

Veronica was probably named to honour Saint Veronica a nun who died in Milan in 1497.

Ivyleaf Speedwell.

Summary:

A 3 to 5 lobed, roundish leaved, hairy annual herb with opposite leaves at the base and alternate leaves up the stems with pale purple flowers in the axils.

Description:

Cotyledons:

Two. Oval, 8-12 mm long. Base squarish. Tip round. Surface of blade hairless. Petiole 8-13 mm long or about the same length as the blade. Short hairs on stalk only. The seedling has a hypocotyl and an epicotyl.

First leaves:

Paired, egg shaped, 6-9 mm long, shiny. Edges toothed to shallowly lobed. Maybe hairy. Stalk 5-8 mm long with hairs on the upper surface.

Leaves:

Paired near bottom alternate at top.

Stipules - None.

Petiole - 5-25 mm long and hairy.

Blade - Triangular to round, 10-20 mm diameter, 3-5 lobed with the middle lobe the largest. Hairy.

Stem leaves - Arise singly, alternate, 20-25 mm long and hairy. Tip lobe plus 2 or 3 side lobes.

Stems:

Prostrate but ends turn up and erect, weak, round, ridged, 200-300 mm long and are branched from the base. Sparsely hairy to hairy with long hairs.

Flower head:

Flowers in leaf axils on stalks(peduncles) about as long as the leaf.

Flowers:

Pale purple, 3-4 mm wide.

Ovary -

Sepals - 3-4 mm long, longer than the petals, triangular, joined at the base to form a quadrangle.

Petals - 4, pale purple or pale blue.

Stamens - 2, exerted.

Anthers - 2 celled.

Fruit:

Small, almost globular capsule, 1 mm diameter, lumpy, 2-4 seeded. Style shorter than capsule.

Seeds:

Enclosed in the fruit.

Roots:

Taproot.

Key Characters:

Annual herb, hairy

Leaves on long petioles, palmately 3-5 lobed.

Lower leaves opposite, upper floral leaves alternate.

Flowers distant, solitary in the axils of the upper leaves on peduncles as long or longer than the leaves.

Stamens 2, exerted.

Anthers 2 celled.

Corolla 4 lobed, rotate.

Style conspicuous.

Capsule 4 lobed, loculicidal.

From J.M. Black.

Biology:

Life cycle:

Annual. Seeds germinates from autumn to spring. Flowers late-winter to spring.

Physiology:

Reproduction:

By seed.

Flowering times:

August to January in SA.

Seed Biology and Germination:

Vegetative Propagules:

None.

Hybrids:

Allelopathy:

Population Dynamics and Dispersal:

Spread by seed.

Origin and History:

Europe. Western Asia.

Distribution:

NSW, SA, TAS, VIC.

Occurs in parts of the north and south of Tasmania.

Habitats:

Climate:

Temperate.

Soil:

Plant Associations:

Significance:

Beneficial:

Detrimental:

Weed of gardens, crops and disturbed areas.

Toxicity:

Not recorded as toxic

Legislation:

None.

Management and Control:

Thresholds:

Eradication strategies:

Prevent seed set.

Herbicide resistance:

Biological Control:

Related plants:

Blue Water Speedwell (Veronica anagallis-aquatica)

Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis)

Wandering Speedwell (Veronica peregrina)

Creeping Speedwell (Veronica persica, Veronica plebeia)

Plants of similar appearance:

Stagger Weed (Stachys arvensis) has a smaller cotyledon and larger lobes on the first leaves, more lobes on the later leaves and the larger flower.

Dead Nettle (Lamium amplexicaule) has a smaller cotyledon and larger lobes on the first leaves, more lobes on the later leaves and the larger flower.

References:

Black, J.M. (1965). Flora of South Australia. (Government Printer, Adelaide, South Australia). P771. Diagrams.

Hyde-Wyatt, B.H. and Morris, D.I. (1975). Tasmanian weed handbook. (Tasmanian Department of Agriculture, Hobart, Tasmania). P80-81.

Lamp, C. and Collet, F. (1990). A Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).

Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #1264.3.

Wilding, J.L. et al. (1987). Crop weeds. (Inkata Press, Melbourne). P145. Diagrams. Photos.

Acknowledgments:

Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.